SANTA CRUZ — The state Legislature has tabled a statewide ban on polystyrene take-out containers, once again thwarting environmental advocates” efforts to make California the first state in the nation to adopt one.

Authored by Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, the ban cleared the Senate and made it to the floor of the state Assembly. But Lowenthal yanked the bill late Thursday when it became clear he didn”t have the votes.

“No one thought we would get SB568 as far as we did,” Lowenthal said. “This is a major accomplishment. I am committed to this endeavor and am looking forward to 2012 as the year California becomes the first state in the nation to phase out the use of polystyrene foam food-ware.”

More than 50 municipalities across California have passed local bans on plastic foam, and several lobbied for the bill. Chemical, restaurant and packaging groups opposed it.

Plastic foam take-out containers are off-limits throughout Santa Cruz County, and the Board of Supervisors was one of six statewide to endorse the bill.

The state ban was closely watched nationwide. While it has been offered before, the bill never made it as far as it did this year. Lowenthal and ban supporters vowed to try to push the bill through the Assembly next year.

“The battle over this bill is a match-up of David versus Goliath,” said Miriam Gordon, California director of Clean Water Action. “Despite industry”s massive and costly lobbying push, we moved this bill way further than any of the three previous polystyrene ban bills in the California Legislature, and we”re not done.”

Industry groups such as the California Restaurant Association have argued that polystyrene is the most suitable and cost-effective product for take-out food. The association was not immediately available for comment.